Rose Charities 2010 Conference (25-28 June 2010) Travel & Accommodation Notes

For Cambodian travel arrangment / hotel bookings:    Mr Hem Nara  hem_nara2007@yahoo.com      Mr Nara has worked with Rose Charities for many years dealing with bookings for both previous conferences (Penang and Ho Chi Minh City).  We very much recommend him for all travel arrangements including Siem Reap / Angkor Wat travel.

Officially recommended hotels for delegates. (its more enjoyable when everyone stays in the same place(s) - though Phnom Penh has many other hotels too of course)

1) Imperial Garden Hotel   www.imperialgarden-hotel.com   Approx USD 60 per night. Nice pool and gym. The hotel where the conference rooms are.  Book through Mr Nara for best rate (ie not over internet)

2) Frangipani Hotel (there is a Frangipanni Hotel '60' and a Frangipanni Hotel '90' - we recommend the '60').  www.frangipanihotel.com  Mention the Rose Charities 2010 Meeting for a discount.  About USD 36 per night

3) Goldie Boutique Guesthouse    www.goldieguesthouse.com    Around $28 per night.  Well recommended

.. If all else full...

4) Blue Lime Hotel    www.bluelime.asia/rooms.html    About USD 40 per night .. but worth it..


Contact. Hon Head of Meeting Secretariat. Ms Linda Roberts (Rose Charities Canada)
Email.    RoseCharities2010@live.com      Fax  +1-810-592-0595

Be Tho - building a dream

Sister Vinh celebrates the opening of the second Be Tho orphanage in Song Be, Vietnam.  The plaque reads: FROM THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OLIVER BONAS AND ROSE CHARITIES VIETNAM SUPPORTERS WE BUILD A CHILD'S DREAM ONE BRICK AT A TIME UNTIL WE HAVE A HUMAN WONDER.

Will Grut has 60 reasons to pick your pocket.

Will Grut, executive secretary of Rose Charities, is going to be 60 on February 22nd. While many of us keep this milestone a secret, Will is turning his big day into a charitable fund raising event for a cause that is close to his heart: health education. “It is amazing how just a little information can prevent so much terrible disease for so many. Much human suffering is generated not only from disease but also from reaction to disease caused by ignorance, for example appalling violence against women (and children) is inflicted through ignorance and bizarre beliefs about HIV transmission. Simple knowledge about clean water could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths every year. The use of a $4 mosquito net could cut down or even eliminate the 2 million annual malaria deaths (1 million of them children, four times the number of deaths in the Haiti earthquake per year, every year). Rose Charities works in a number of areas addressing education. Female eye health volunteers are trained in Nepali villages to identify early disease which will cause blindness. In Africa, through the Hillman Fund and partners, the Laura Case Trust trains young professionals in medicine and surgery. In Sri Lanka, Rose runs many education programmes specifically targeting females, and in Pakistan assistance is provided to train birthing attendants. There are many gaps in health knowledge which, if addressed, could prevent the suffering and deaths of millions, lessen the abuse of women and children and ensure a kinder life for the elderly and vulnerable.”
Please donate to Will for his 60th birthday; donations to Rose Charities are tax deductible. You can donate at Justgiving (UK), Firstgiving (USA) or Canada Helps (Canada)   (other locations please use one of the three)

Human suffering through ignorance... help put a stop to it. Please sponsor..

Much human suffering which is generated  both through th disease as well as what the ignorance can make people do to others.  Terrible violence against women (and children) is for example inflicted through ignorance and bizarre beliefs about HIV tranmission; simple knowledge about clean water could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths every year; the use of a $4 mosquito could cut down or even elimate the 2 million  annual malaria deaths ( 1 million of them children) .  This is 4 x Haiti disaster deaths.. per year. .every year...or  6.8 Boeing 747 'jumbo jets' packed with children crashing into a mountain ...every day...

Rose Charities works in areas concerning this. Village female eye health volunteers are trained in Nepal to pick up early diseasewhich will cause blindness In Africa, through the Hillman Fund and partners the Laura Case Trust young professionals are trained in medicine and surgery. In Sri Lanka Rose runs many education programs with females being specifically targeted. Assistance is given in Pakistan to train birthing attendants.

There are so many holes in health knowedge worldwide which, if addressed  could prevent suffering and death by millions.  It could cut down the abuse of women and children and bring kinder lives to the elderly and vulnerable

I have chosen these issues as a (significant) birthday cause for myself as Exec Sec. of Rose Charities.  To sponsor  USA   UK    Canada  (others please use USA or UK sites)  

Oliver Bonas supports Be Tho Orphanage, Vietnam

A brief note from Dr. Bhurji in Port au Prince

For those who have not met him, Dr. Pargat Bhurji is a pediatrician at Children's Hospital BC and a frequent and generous volunteer with Rose Charities. Dr. Bhurji and RN Kirby Pirckard recently arrived in Port au Prince with the latest Rose emergecy aid mission. Dr. Bhurji has just sent back this brief, touching message.

I am fortunate to be on this mission.  A lot of work needs to be done, Sick, tiny dehydrated babies are at the top of the list.  When I first arrived I worked with a French pediatrician, setting up tents for pediatric and neonatal care. Every day we get more than 10 admissions plus over 100 outpatients. Despite lack of proper resources, medication and equipment we are able to help.

On my birthday I saw a 32 week old boy whose parents wanted to name Pargat! After many tries to pronounce it in Creole we settled on calling him Peter. It was the best birthday gift ever.

I am glad that God gave me this oppotunity to serve.

Incredible support by Sikh Community for Rose Charities Canada Haiti Relief

Rose Charities has been enormously touched by the generosity of the lower mainland Sikh community in helping with its fundraising efforts for Haiti medical relief.  In this disaster scenario,  Rose Charities, along with a number of other smaller organizations quickly accessed Haiti through the Dominican republic while the bigger organizations were trying to clear the gridlock at Haiti Airport which was hampering their efforts.

Rose Charities, working with AMDA was thus able to get medical teams in place rapidly. The Sikh community in B.C., Washington State and other areas collected around 5 millon dollars. Much of this was given to M.S.F for its excellent  work  but Rose Charities also benefited from its generosity with  several tens of thousands.  By supporting the smaller scale though rapid and efficient efforts of Rose Charities (which has no administration costs) as well as larger groups, the Sikh community demonstrated an excellently balanced approach.   Many people considered that a more proportionate response from donors to a be more inclusive of the smaller, more rapidly effective organizations would have increased overall rapidity and efficiency of relief efforts, but these organizations tend to find it hard to compete with the well financed publicity units of the larger organizations which tend to have the resources to rapidly monopolize the attention of the media.   In its donations to Rose Charities the Sikh community also patriotically supported a Vancouver born and run organization, and one which has assisted in almost all major disasters of recent years (Asian Tsunami,  Hurricane Katrina, Myanmar typhoon, Sichuan etc) and many minor ones (Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia etc etc) .

Dr Pargat Singh Bhurji a pediatrics Consultant at the B.C’s Childrens Hospital was in addition one of the first to volunteer with Rose for Haiti disaster relief.  At this time, Dr Bhurji is in Port-au-prince working in a tent-pediatric unit which they have helped to set up.  In 2005, Dr Bhurji was leader of the 4th Rose Charities medical relief team to Kalmunai, Sri Lanka.

The organizers of Rose Charities Canada are touched and honored to have been in receipt of such generosity by the Sikh Community and want to express their very considerable gratitude.   Dr Pargat Bhurji will, on his return be central in orchestrating the continuing medical aid efforts for Haiti which will be greatly assisted by the Sikh Community donations.

The Organizations below were especially generous in their donations. These came from their congregations often from persons who do not themselves earn very highly. In addition, many individuals handed donations directly to Dr Bhurji or Rose Charities personnel.   One of very many similar examples of the incredible generosity was  truck driver, who gave half his months salary in cash - some $1000 with the words ‘the people of Haiti need it more than me’

Of special mention here for generosity are

Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Temple, Delta
Khlasa Diwan Temple Abbotsford Surrey
Mission Gur Sikh Society

Thank you !